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Dugie’s Pensieve » Blog Archive » Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 vs VMware Server v 1.0.4

20 Mar

Dugie’s Pensieve

Making the world a better place, one Virtual Machine at a time (and maybe with a bit of Media Centre too)

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 vs VMware Server v 1.0.4

Virtualization November 3rd, 2007

Ok Firstly, I sooo wish Microsoft had released “Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1″ as “Virtual Server 2007″.  It would have saved so much confusion — and personally I believe free products should never have service packs;  just newer versions.  But I digress!

Ok, now that I have that off my chest, I’ve got a whole bunch of stats and perf data from testing VMs.  Yes it’s a comparison on both VMware Server and Microsoft Virtual Server.  I’ve also been inspired to clean it up and publish it.

The data is nothing special, just scripted installs of the operating systems and applications; and a couple of tests with SQLIOSim and the Exchange 2003 Stress Test tools.  The theme here is Microsoft.  Microsoft OSes on the host, Microsoft OSes in the VMs, running Microsoft Server Apps, tested with [mostly] Microsoft test tools.

But before I do, I’m going to do two things:

  1. Re run the tests (which will take about 2 days), I haven’t done the tests since VMware Server 1.0.4  was released.
  2. shoot off a quick email to VMware to comply with the EULA:

3.3 Restrictions. You may not (i) sell, lease, license, sublicense, distribute or otherwise transfer in whole or in part the Software or the Software License Key to another party; (ii) provide, disclose, divulge or make available to, or permit use of the Software in whole or in part by, any third party (except Designated Administrative Access) without VMware’s prior written consent; or (iii) modify or create derivative works based upon the Software. Except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law, and to the extent that VMware is not permitted by that applicable law to exclude or limit the following rights, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, or otherwise attempt to derive source code from the Software, in whole or in part. You may use the Software to conduct internal performance testing and benchmarking studies, the results of which you (and not unauthorized third parties) may publish or publicly disseminate; provided that VMware has reviewed and approved of the methodology, assumptions and other parameters of the study. Please contact VMware at benchmark@vmware.com to request such review.

…and before anybody asks:  I’m not using Exchange 2007, because there is no 64bit VM support yet and I don’t want to taint the results with the “non-supported” or beta builds of software. 

Keep you posted.

4 Responses to “Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 vs VMware Server v 1.0.4”
  1. rburbridge Says:
    November 3rd, 2007 at 1:37 am

    Sounds like we will get some useful information from this. Can you also give the details of the hardware configuration the tests will be ran on?

  2. Ozzie Says:
    November 6th, 2007 at 8:55 am

    great! can’t wait to see the results…i sure will make use of them

  3. dugie Says:
    November 6th, 2007 at 4:34 pm

    At this stage I’ll probably use a Sun fire 4200.

  4. Mike Says:
    November 10th, 2007 at 7:59 pm

    For what it’s worth, VMware Server has support for 64-bit guests. I know it won’t be apples to apples (since MSVS doesn’t do 64-bit, but it would be interesting to see the Exchange 2007 tests run since it does much better with I/O than 2003.

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Dugie’s Pensieve » Blog Archive » Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 vs VMware Server v 1.0.4

 
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Posted by on 20/03/2008 in Virtual Server's

 

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips – Guest Operating System Installation Runs Slow – The Virtual Server Journal

17 Mar

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips – Guest Operating System Installation Runs Slow – The Virtual Server Journal 

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 12:26 PM janiquec

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips – Guest Operating System Installation Runs Slow

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit.

Guest Operating System Installation Is Slow

When you install Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows XP Professional as a guest operating system in a virtual machine, the installation process can take several hours to complete if the virtual hard disk is attached to a virtual SCSI adapter and the default Adaptec driver (aic78xx.sys) is installed in the guest operating system.

Resolution

Virtual Server 2005 R2 includes a virtual floppy disk image file named SCSI Shunt Driver.vfd that can be used to load the optimized Microsoft Virtual Machine PCI SCSI Controller driver (also referred to as the accelerated SCSI driver) when you are prompted to hit F6 during the guest operating system installation. Using the accelerated SCSI driver can significantly increase the speed of the guest operation system installation.

Follow these steps to load the accelerated SCSI driver using the SCSI Shunt Driver.vfd floppy disk image:

  • Open the Virtual Server Administration Website.
  • In the Master Status pane, click the virtual machine thumbnail to start the guest operating system installation.
  • Click the virtual machine thumbnail again to connect using the VMRC ActiveX client.
  • When the guest operating system installation prompts you to load a third-party SCSI or RAID driver, press F6. The F6 prompt displays at the bottom of the Setup screen.
  • When the guest operating system Setup screen displays a message indicating that Windows could not determine the type of mass storage device on your system, click Master Status in the navigation pane below the virtual machine VMRC display.
  • In Virtual Machines, click Configure and then select the virtual machine from the list.
  • In Configuration, click Floppy Drive.
  • In Floppy Drive Properties, click Known Floppy Disks, select the SCSI Shunt Driver.vfd floppy disk image file, and click OK.
  • In Status, click the virtual machine thumbnail to reconnect to it.
  • In the guest operating system Setup screen, type S and then press Enter.
  • Scroll to and select the accelerated SCSI driver entry that matches the guest operating system that is being installed, and then press Enter.
  • Press Enter to continue, and complete the guest operating system installation.

Note: The SCSI Shunt Driver.vfd does not include an accelerated SCSI driver for Windows NT 4.0 Server. If your installation of Windows NT 4.0 Server on a VHD that is connected to a virtual SCSI adapter is progressing slowly, terminate the installation and connect the VHD to a virtual IDE adapter. Restart and complete the Windows NT 4.0 guest operating system using this configuration before reconnecting the VHD back to a virtual SCSI adapter.

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips – Guest Operating System Installation Runs Slow – The Virtual Server Journal

 
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Posted by on 17/03/2008 in Virtual Server 2005 R2-Sp1

 

Tips for installing Vista on your PC – Technology – MSN India

14 Mar

 

Friday, 22 February 2008

Tips for installing Vista on your PC

Windows Vista can create a System Health Report using inputs from its Performance and Reliability Monitor.

Tips for installing Vista on your PC

Generate system health reports

A well-organised, information packed report always comes in handy in pinpointing problems that could crop up with your PC. Windows Vista is packed with diagnostic tools for your PC that let you do just that.

To get the system to generate the report, go to your Control Panel, and select System and Maintenance. Next, go to Performance Information and Tools. On the left, where you have the Tasks list, select Advanced tools. Now, click the last item on the menu before you, which is Generate a system health report. The system will spend about a minute gathering information, which means you can run several of these reports, and it won’t take up too much of your time.

To get an idea of what your system’s ideal performance is like, run a report immediately after a boot, before you start any programs. Then try generating reports while running the most stressful programs, and see the variation between the two.

Free up space on your hard disk after installing Vista

When you install Vista on your PC, it automatically backs up all the files that were replaced during the installation. However, once you are comfortable with using the OS and are sure that you will not need to uninstall it, you no longer require these files, and they are simply taking up space on your hard disk. Here’s what you can do to get rid of them.

In your system32 folder, there is a tool named Vsp1clean.exe, which can remove all these files. To run this tool, all you have to do is open up a Command Prompt (or press the Windows key + R), and enter: Vsp1cln.exe

This will remove all the backed up files from your system, which are the older versions of components that have been updated. Using this tool can free up 600-700 MB of space on your hard disk. 

Run Parental Controls in Vista

Are you worried about what sites your kids are accessing on the Web? Parental Controls is a new feature in Windows Vista that was made for you. It allows you to filter certain websites that you think contain harmful content, or only allow sites that you think are harmless.

In order to use Parental Controls, you need to be using the Administrator account, and have a separate account for your kids. Also, you should keep your children from accessing the Administrator account by password-protecting it, otherwise they may be able to log in and change the settings in Parental Controls.

Go to the Control Panel and choose User Accounts and Family Safety. Next, select Set up parental controls for any user. This will take you to a list of accounts. Select your child’s user account. In the screen that opens up, click the radio button to turn on Parental Controls. Then, click Windows Vista Web Filter, and check the radio button for Block some websites or content. At this point, you can choose whether you want to block sites on a default-allow or a default-deny basis. If you choose Only allow websites which are on the allow list, Vista will only allow your child to access the sites you specifically mention, and deny access to everything else. Click Edit the Allow and block list. Now, enter the URLs of the websites you want to allow or block access to, and click allow the appropriate buttons for Allow or Block. Your settings will be saved, and your child will only be able to access the sites that you allow him/her to access.

Source: India Syndicate

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Tips for installing Vista on your PC – Technology – MSN India

 
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Posted by on 14/03/2008 in Vista

 

Bill Gates seeks more H-1 B visas for foreign engineers – Business News – News – MSN India – News

14 Mar

Bill Gates seeks more H-1 B visas for foreign engineers – Business News – News – MSN India – News 

Friday, March 14, 2008

Bill Gates seeks more H-1 B visas for foreign engineers

Bill Gates seeks more H-1 B visas for foreign engineers

Washington: Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has again urged the US Congress to let more engineers from India and other parts of the world work in the country as immigration restrictions were forcing US high-tech firms to outsource jobs overseas.
The current cap of 65,000 H-1B visas aimed at highly skilled professionals "is arbitrarily set and bears no relation to the US economy’s demand for skilled professionals", he told a Congressional panel for the second year in a row.
Noting that all the 65,000 visas for the current fiscal year were snapped up in one day last April and that employers are now waiting to apply for visas for fiscal 2009 that starts in October, Gates on Wednesday said: "Last year, for example, Microso

Bill Gates-Washington Tags:

ft was unable to obtain H-1B visas for one-third of the highly qualified foreign-born job candidates that we wanted to hire.
"If we increase the number of H-1B visas that are available to US companies, employment of US nationals would likely grow as well. For instance, Microsoft has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four additional employees to support them in various capacities."
Voicing a longstanding complaint from the technology sector, Gates said: "Congress’s failure to pass high-skilled immigration reform has exacerbated an already grave situation.
"As a result, many US firms, including Microsoft, have been forced to locate staff in countries that welcome skilled foreign workers to do work that could otherwise have been done in the United States, if it were not for our counterproductive immigration policies."
Gates argued that the US economy benefits from these skilled immigrants. He cited a study that found that one-quarter of all start-up US engineering and technology firms created between 1995 and 2005 had at least one foreign-born founder.

"The United States will find it far more difficult to maintain its competitive edge over the next 50 years if it excludes those who are able and willing to help us compete," Gates said.
"Other nations are benefiting from our misguided policies. They are revising their immigration policies to attract highly talented students and professionals who would otherwise study, live, and work in the United States for at least part of their careers.
"It makes no sense to educate people in our universities, often subsidised by US taxpayers, and then insist they return home," he told the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee during a two-hour hearing.
Launched in 1990, the H-1B visa programme allows foreign scientists, engineers and technologists to be employed for up to six years, at the end of which they must obtain a permanent residency or return home.
Indian companies accounted for nearly 80 percent of the visa petitions approved in 2007 with Infosys and Wipro topping the list with 4,559 and 2,567 approvals respectively, according to latest data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Overall, six of the top 10 visa recipients in 2007 are based in India. Two others among the top 10 – Cognizant Technology Solutions and UST Global – are headquartered in the US but have most of their operations in India.
Microsoft and Intel, which also have significant India operations, are the only two traditional US tech companies among the top 10. Microsoft received 959 visa petition approvals.
The US will begin accepting H-1B visas on April 1 for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct 1. Last year, the US received 123,480 visa petitions in two days, more than double the 65,000 cap. Companies receiving visas were randomly picked by USCIS via a computerized lottery.
Source:Indo-Asian News Service

Also read:

Economists believe US is already in recession

Microsoft launches new servers

Bill Gates seeks more H-1 B visas for foreign engineers – Business News – News – MSN India – News

 
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Posted by on 14/03/2008 in Computer and Internet